Chef Dimitra
Arkatena Omodous (Αρκατένα Ομόδους)
Omodos arkatena are Cypriot chickpea-leavened rusks, pale inside and sesame-studded, baked once as little rings and again until they crack clean under the tooth and keep beautifully.
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Eliopsomo Messinias (Ελιόψωμο Μεσσηνίας)
Created by
Messenian olive bread studded with Kalamata olives and onion, made for the meze table, the picnic cloth, and the fasting day when good oil carries the meal.
Breads
Greek
Comfort Food
Picnic
Budget Friendly
35 min
Active Time
40 min cook•3 hr 15 min total
Yield1 large loaf, 8 servings
Eliopsomo Messinias is olive bread from Messenia in the southern Peloponnese, where the olive isn't a garnish but the spine of the table. This loaf is soft and chewy inside, crisp at the edge, dark with Kalamata olives, and sweetened just enough by onion to make each slice taste like it already belongs beside a plate of beans, horta, or a glass of wine.
The method that matters is not dramatic. Press the olives dry before they touch the dough. Their brine is good in the olive jar and bad in the loaf, because it slackens the dough and leaves salty wet pockets where the crumb should rise clean. Do that one thing, then let the yeast and the oil work quietly.
This is nistisimo bread, welcome on fasting tables when oil is permitted, but nobody eats it only from duty. It travels well, keeps honestly for two days, and makes a fine lunch with tomato and a little feta outside the fast. I don't invent it. I find it, I test it, I write it down, and this one asks for very little: good olives, good olive oil, and patience.
Olive breads appear across Greek regional cooking, especially in olive-growing areas and in the fasting kitchens shaped by the Orthodox calendar. In Messenia, Kalamata olives and Koroneiki oil made eliopsomo a practical bread for field work, picnics, and meatless days, rich enough to stand as food rather than only as something beside the food. The same idea travels under different names in Cyprus and the islands, but the Messenian loaf is plain, olive-heavy, and built around the fruit of the local groves.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
strong bread flour
Quantity
500g
plus extra for shaping
instant yeast
Quantity
7g
fine sea salt
Quantity
10g
lukewarm water
Quantity
320ml
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
60ml
plus 1 tablespoon for the bowl
Kalamata olives
Quantity
180g
pitted, rinsed, pressed dry, and roughly chopped
yellow onion
Quantity
120g
finely chopped
dried Greek oregano
Quantity
1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
sesame seeds (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| strong bread flourplus extra for shaping | 500g |
| instant yeast | 7g |
| fine sea salt | 10g |
| lukewarm water | 320ml |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oilplus 1 tablespoon for the bowl | 60ml |
| Kalamata olivespitted, rinsed, pressed dry, and roughly chopped | 180g |
| yellow onionfinely chopped | 120g |
| dried Greek oregano | 1 teaspoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| sesame seeds (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •large heavy mixing bowl
- •parchment-lined baking tray, about 30cm by 40cm
- •clean kitchen towel for pressing olives
Instructions
- 1
Dry the olives
Rinse the pitted Kalamata olives if they are very briny, then spread them on a clean towel and press hard until the towel comes away stained but not wet. This is the step that decides the loaf. Wet olives slacken the dough and streak it with harsh brine; dry olives give you a tender crumb with clean pockets of salt and fruit.
- 2
Mix the dough
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, oregano, and pepper. Add the lukewarm water and 60ml olive oil, then mix until no dry flour remains. The dough should feel soft and a little tacky, not pourable and not stiff.
- 3
Knead until supple
Knead by hand for 8 to 10 minutes, or in a stand mixer on low for 5 to 6 minutes, until the dough turns smooth and elastic. If it sticks badly, dust the bench lightly, but don't bury it in flour. Olive bread wants a moist dough, or it bakes heavy.
- 4
Fold in filling
Pat the dough into a rough rectangle. Scatter over the dried chopped olives and the finely chopped onion, then fold the dough over itself several times until the filling is spread through it. Some olives will push out. Press them back in and keep going.
- 5
Let it rise
Oil the bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil, set the dough inside, and turn it once so the surface is lightly coated. Cover and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until doubled and soft under your finger.
- 6
Shape the loaf
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a round or oval loaf, tucking the edges underneath to make a tight skin. Set it on a parchment-lined baking tray. Cover loosely and let it rise for 35 to 45 minutes, until puffy.
- 7
Bake until deep
Heat the oven to 220C. Brush the loaf lightly with water, sprinkle with sesame seeds if using, and slash the top once with a sharp knife. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the oven to 190C and bake for 25 minutes more, until the crust is deep brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
- 8
Cool before slicing
Move the bread to a rack and let it cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing. Cut too early and the crumb smears around the olives. Warm is good. Hot from the knife is impatience, and bread punishes that.
Chef Tips
- •Use firm Kalamata olives that taste fruity, not only salty. If the olives are harsh, rinse them and dry them well. Λίγα και καλά: a few things, and good ones.
- •Don't add extra flour just because the dough feels tacky at first. Olive oil softens the crumb, and a slightly moist dough gives a better loaf than a dry, obedient one.
- •Eliopsomo keeps well wrapped in a clean towel for two days. On the third day, slice it, toast it, and serve it with beans, lentils, or a bowl of olives and tomato.
Advance Preparation
- •Pit, rinse, chop, and press the olives dry up to 1 day ahead; keep them covered in the refrigerator.
- •The baked loaf can be made the morning of a picnic and carried whole, wrapped in a clean towel.
- •For slower flavor, let the mixed dough rise overnight in the refrigerator after folding in the olives, then shape it cold and give it 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes for the second rise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 130g)
Calories
370 calories
Total Fat
15 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
780 mg
Total Carbohydrates
49 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
9 g
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